Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*
Life in Spain
- Another article on Spain's politico-economic woes, exacerbated by the pandemic.
- María's Comeback Chronicle, Day 34, on a global issue of the moment.
- The evangelical pastor who shepherds the flock of gypsies in the permenanent settlement near my house has requested leniency for the 10-12 individuals currently incarcerated for drug dealing - on the grounds that each of them has promised never to do this again. Even the writer of the article in the Diariro de Pontevedra expressed open scepticism on this point.
- Way back in 2006, I took fotos of the properties in Pontevedra I suspected would eventually disappear, regardless of rules/laws against demolition. This scene is 5th and 6th in that series:-
I thought it was illegal these days to demolish old facades but maybe things are different when you propose a 7-floor block of flats, with all the income - white and black - which that brings in.
The UK
- Thanks to the lockdown - as the nation works from home - puppies are going for up to £10,000, as crooks are exploiting “unprecedented” interest in owning one. Common crossbreeds such as cockapoos and labradoodles are selling for more than 4 times their worth, while pedigrees such as British and French bulldogs have had fivefold increases. Personally, I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to own a bulldog but each to his own, I guess. Or, in the case of the French breed, chacun à son goût. A phrase, incidentally, a French partner once told me is no longer used in France
The USA
The Way of the World
- No leader can withstand the intensive scrutiny of history, as Churchill fans are finding, but social media and an incontinent press are doing the same job with would-be leaders. Sooner, rather than later, anyone who puts their head over the parapet will be shown to have feet of clay.
Finally . . .
- I've been adopted by another abandoned kitten, fleas an' all. Which is as playful - and possibly as daft - as the last one. Why me? Kittens are amusing but I don't like cats and am, in fact, allergic to their dander . . . Il faut souffrir. Possibly another phrase no longer used in France.
- My Dutch house-guest has just commented on the kitten's 'snoring' with pleasure. An easy mistake, I guess.
- Which reminds me . . . Here's a collection of amusing verses on ridiculous English spellings.
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